Weft guiding apparatus



Aug. 15, 1967 v, BARTOSEK ETAL' I 3,

' WEIIFT-GUIDING APPARATUS Filed Sept; *1, 19615 I 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIG.3

ATTORNEY 2 Sheets$heei 2 FiledSept.

M'M' BY 00 I ATTOR EY 3,335,761 WEFT GUIDING APPARATUS VladimirBartosek, Vilem Janousek, and Otto Rotrekl,

Brno, Czechoslovakia, assignors to Elitex Sdruzeni Podniku TextilnihoStrojirenstvi, Liherec, Czechoslovakia Filed Sept. 1, 1965, Ser. No.484,363 Claims priority, application Czechoslovakia, Sept. 2, 1964,4,892/64 8 Claims. (Cl. 139-125) The present invention relates to a weftguiding apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for guiding a weftthread drawn from a weft supply during a pick in such a manner that theweft thread does not slide on the fell of the web which is being woven.

Looms are well known in which a weft inserting means in the form of agripper shuttle or needle holds the weft thread during the pick so thatthe weft thread is drawn from a stationary weft supply. The weft supplyis a thread package located outside of the warp shed and laterally ofthe slay on the stationary frame of the loom. A thread guide means isused for feeding the weft thread from the thread supply to the weftinserting means, for example to the gripper shuttle so that the samegrips the weft thread and pulls it off the weft supply during the pick,while the weft thread slides through the eye of the thread guide.

The thread guide may be mounted on the machine frame or on the slay, andperforms the function of placing the weft thread in a position in whichit can be gripped by the shuttle while the same is located outside ofthe warp shed If the thread guide is arranged on the slay, the weftthread can be attached to the gripper shuttle in any posi tion of theslay, however, this operation is usually carried out during the rearwardmotion of the slay from its front dead center position to the rear deadcenter position. The disadvantage of this construction is thatthe threadguide increases the inertia of the slay, which is undesirable,particularly if a weft changing device for supplying weft threads ofdifferent colors has to be mounted on the slay.

When the thread guide means is mounted on the frame of the loom in sucha position as to feed the weft thread to the gripper shuttle in the reardead center position of the slay, the reciprocating movement of the slaymust be controlled in such a manner that the same remains in the reardead center position for a certain time necessary for the insertion ofthe weft thread into the gripper shuttle, or other weft inserting means.

Since this operation is carried out in the rear dead center position ofthe slay in which the gripper shuttle has passed to the other side ofthe warp shed, the weft thread is inserted into the shuttle at the farside of the warp shed after a pick. This arrangement has thedisadvantage that the slay has to be delayed for a considerable time inits rear position, and such time is frequently more than one-half of thetime required for an operational cycle. Another disadvantage is that itcan be checked only after a pick whether the weft thread was properlyinserted into the gripper shuttle. The delay in the rear position of theslay requires a faster movement of the slay toward and away from thefront position in which the weft thread is beaten by the reed, so that aweb of lesser density is obtained.

In order to overcome these disadvantages, it has been proposed to feedthe weft thread into the weft inserting means, for example into agripper shuttle, while the slay is in the front dead center position sothat the weft inserting means can be picked during the movement of theslay from the front position to the rear position. In such anarrangement, the reciprocating motion of the slay is United StatesPatent 3,335,761 Patented Aug. 15, 1967 continuous without any timedelay in the front or rear position so that a fabric of the same qualityis obtained as is produced in standard looms in which the shuttlecarries a weft thread supply.

However, apparatus of this type according to the prior art has thedisadvantage that the thread guide means is located forwardly of thefell of the woven Web while placing the weft thread in the grippershuttle, which is due to the fact that the gripper shuttle is locatedforwardly of the fell of the web when the slay is in its front positionin which the reed beats the last Weft thread into the web. Consequently,when the gripper shuttle moves rearwardly with the slay during the pick,lines passing through the gripper shuttle and the thread guide cross thefell of the web, so that the weft thread is drawn by the shuttle overthe selvedge warp threads in the region of the fell of the web. Sincethe drawn or pulled weft thread is bent at the selvedge of the web andslides along the same, the selvedge warp threads, the last beaten weftthread, and the weft thread drawn by the shuttle frictionally engage oneach other and are abraded, while the speed of the shuttle pulling theweft thread is reduced.

If there is any irregularity in the weft thread, it may tear or break,and particularly if synthetic fibers such as nylon are used as weftthread, substantial heat develops due to the friction, resulting inscorching of the threads.

It is one object of the invention to overcome the dis advantages ofknown weft guiding apparatus for feeding a weft thread into a weftinserting means, such as a gripper shuttle or needle, and to provide aweft guiding apparatus in which a new weft thread is freely drawn from asupply package by the weft inserting means without frictionally engagingthe woven web.

Another object of the invention is to place weft guide means for a weftthread during the pick in such a position that a weft thread guided bythe thread guide does not frictionally engage the threads of the wovenweb.

Another object of the invention is to hold a thread guide in .a forwardposition while the same inserts a weft thread into a gripper shuttle,and to hold the thread guide in a rearward position while the shuttledraws a weft thread through the thread guide during the pick.

Another object of the invention is to prevent abrasion of a weft threadduring its insertion into a warp shed.

Another object is to obtain a faster movement of a picked grippershuttle drawing a weft thread from a weft supply by guiding the drawnoff weft thread along a path spaced from the fell and the selvedge ofthe woven web so that frictional engagement between the Weft thread andthe web is prevented.

With these objects in view, the present invention relates to a weftguiding apparatus which is provided in a loom having a slay reciprocablebetween front and rear dead center positions, and weft inserting means,such as a gripper. shuttle or needle, mounted for movement across theslay between two end positions located outward of the warp shed of theweb. In the loom with which the present invention is concerned, the weftinserting means is in one of the end positions thereof when the slay isin the front dead center position.

One embodiment of the invention comprises thread supply means forsupplying a weft thread, for example a thread package supported on theframe of the loom; thread guide means, preferably having an eye forguiding the weft thread, and having a first position located for- Wardlyofthe fell of the web for feeding and attaching the weft thread to theweft inserting means, or more particularly to the gripper of a grippershuttle while the same is in one of said end positions and the slay isin the front,

dead center position, and a second position located rearward of the fellof the web; and drive means for operating, or more particularlyreciprocating the thread guide means in timed relationship with theslay.

The drive means control the thread guide means in such a manner that theweft thread is attached to the gripper shuttle while the slay is in thefront position, while in the second position of the thread guide means,a plane through the eye of the thread guide and the gripper shuttle inany position during the pick, does not cross the fell of the fabric. Asa result, the drawn thread is not bent at the selvedge of the web in theregion of the fell of the web, passes through the warp shed withoutfrictional engagement with the web, and is not subject to abrasion.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation illustrating an embodiment of theinvention in a first operational position in which the slay is in itsfront position and a weft thread is fed to a gripper shuttle;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation corresponding to FIG. 1 but illustrating theapparatus in another operational position during the insertion of a weftthread into a warp shed;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary schematic plan View illustrating apparatusaccording to the prior art in the operational position of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation corresponding to FIG. 2 and illustrating thedrive means for reciprocating the thread guide means; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the apparatus of theinvention in the operational position of FIG. 4 during the insertion ofa weft thread into a warp shed.

Referring now to the drawing, conventional well known parts of the loom,which is provided with a thread guiding apparatus of the invention, arenot shown, or only schematically illustrated. A slay 9 is angularlyreciprocated in the usual manner between a front dead center positionshown in FIG. 1, and a rear dead center position toward which the slaymoves in the direction of the arrow S in FIG. 2. The slay carries a reed8 with reed elements passing between adjacent warp threads, so thatduring forward movement of the reed 8 from the position of FIG. 2 to theposition of FIG. 1, the last picked weft 11 is beaten into the fell ofthe web 21 which is being woven. When the weft inserting means, shown tobe a gripper shuttle 10, is picked by picking means 22 while located ina shuttle box 23, it moves from one end position on one side of the warpshed through the same to the other side of the warp shed, two positionsof the gripper shuttle being shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Picking means 22and shuttle boxes 23 are mounted on the slay for reciprocating movementwith the same, and are provided on both sides of the slay.

When the slay is in its front position shown in FIG. 1, the grippershuttle 10 in a shuttle box 23 is located in the region of the eye 2 ofa weft guide 1 as shown in FIG. 1. A weft thread 3 supplied from a crosswound package 5 on the stationary frame of the loom, passes through eye2 into the web 21 where it is located as the weft thread 12 which wasinserted before the last weft thread 11. The last weft thread 11 waspicked from the other side of the loom and was supplied by another weftthread package 5 located on the other side of the loom and passingthrough a thread guide 1, not shown, on the other side of the loom.

When the slay in its front position shown in FIG. 1 places the shuttle10 in the region of the eye of the thread guide 1, the weft thread 3 isfed to the shuttle and inserted into the gripper of the same. Thereupon,cutting means 30 cut the weft thread between the shuttle and thepreviously inserted weft thread 12 in the vicinity of the web edge sothat the shuttle can be picked through a shed 7 formed in the usualmanner by heddle frames of alternating warp thread 6, 6. In the positionof FIG. 1, the reed 8 beats the last weft thread 11 into the fell of thefabric, and the speed of the slay is at a minimum. At this momentshuttle 10 is located outside of the warp in a shuttle box 23 and isthereupon picked while the slay 9 with the reed 8 move in the directionS toward the rear dead center position.

At the beginning of the pick, the portion of weft thread 3 between theeye 2 and the gripper of shuttle 10 does not cross the last weft thread11, and is located in the warp shed. However, as shuttle 10 continuesits movement to the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 3 and in FIG.5, a plane passing through eye 2 of thread guide 1 and the gripper ofthe shuttle, will cross the last weft thread 11 and the fell of thefabric so that the weft thread is bent in the region of the selvedge atthe point D, and frictionally engages the woven web during the furthertravel of the shuttle which is due to the fact that the thread guide 1,2 is located a distance B forwardly of the last weft thread 11, thedistance corresponding to four weft threads 11, 12, 13 and 14 formingwith the warp threads the last woven part of the web.

The position shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to the prior art, and it willbe appreciated that considerable friction will develop between the weftthread 3 sliding on the threads of the web and more particularly at thejuncture of the last weft thread 11 and the outermost warp threads in abent and kinked position.

In accordance with the present invention, thread guide 1 is moved afterinsertion of the weft thread 3 into the gripper of the shuttle 10 fromits first position shown in FIG. 1 to a second position shown in FIG. 5in which the eye 2 of the thread guide 1 is located rearwardly of thelast weft thread 11 and of the fell of the newly woven web.Consequently, when the shuttle is picked and travels in the direction Sthe weft thread portion 3a does not engage the fell of the fabric, orthe selvedge of the web and is located along a straight line connectingeye 2 with the gripper of shuttle 10. At the beginning of the movement,the weft thread portion 3a is also located in a plane passing throughthe gripper of the shuttle, eye 2 and thread supply package 5, and theeye 2 is advantageously slanted, as shown in FIG. 5, to guide the weftthread 3 which is drawn off the supply package 5 without substantiallybending the Weft thread. Eye 2 may also taper toward shuttle 10 as shownin FIG. 5.

The rearward movement of thread guide 1, from the position shown inbroken lines in FIG. 4 to the position shown in solid lines in FIGS. 4and 5, is obtained by drive means illustrated in FIG. 4. A cam 31 isdriven by a shaft 32 which rotates at half the number of revolutions ofthe main shaft of the loom. Cam 31 is engaged by a cam follower roller33 on a lever 19 which is turnable about a pivot 20 and is urged by aspring 24 toward cam 31 so that lever 19 is reciprocated. Lever 19 hasat its free end a slot 18 receiving a pin 17 on thread guide 1 which isguided in a guide sleeve 16 for rectilinear movement.

Since shaft 32 rotates at half the speed as the main shaft of the loomby which the slay is reciprocated, a thread guide 1 is advanced from theposition of FIG. 1 on either side of the loom after each second beatingmotion of the slay 9 with reed 8 toward the front position shown inFIG. 1. Alternate operation of the thread guides 1 on opposite sides ofthe loom is required since the picks are carried out alternately fromopposite sides of the loom.

During the picking of a weft, slay 9 with reed 8 move first rearward tothe rear dead center position and then forward to the front dead centerposition to beat the last inserted weft into the fell of the fabric. Inthe position of FIG. 1, the last weft thread 11 was just beaten by reed8 after having been drawn from a thread supply means 5 on the other sideof the loom, not shown, by gripper shuttle 10 moving in a directionopposite to the direction of the arrow S Shuttle 10 has grippers atopposite ends, so that a weft thread 3 from supply means 5 can begripped by the free gripper of the shuttle when the same arrives in theregion of the eye 2 of thread guide 1 in the position of FIG. 1. Sincethread 3 passing through eye 2 is still connected with the weft thread12 in the web, cutting mean 30 cuts off thread 3 after insertion intoshuttle 10, so that the shuttle can be picked for movement in thedirection of the arrow S as shown in FIG. 5.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types oflooms differing from the types described above.

While the inventionhas been illustrated and described as embodied in aWeft guiding apparatus including a thread guide movable to a positionfor preventing frictional engagement between a Weft thread inserted intoa warp shed, and the already woven web, it is not intended to be limitedto the details shown, since various modifications and structural changesmay be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the presentinvention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured b Letters Patent is: i

1. In combination with a loom having slay means reciprocable betweenfront and rear dead center positions, and weft inserting means mountedfor movement through warp sheds along a path between two end positionslocated laterally outward of the web being woven: thread supply meansfor supplying weft thread; thread guide means located between the weftthread supply means and the edge of the web and having a weft threadguide portion which guides said weft thread, said thread guide meanshaving a first position in which said guide portion is located forwardlyof the fell and in position for attaching the weft thread to said weftinserting means located in the associated one of said end positionswhile said slay means is in said front dead center position; and drivemeans operating in timed relationship with said slay means for movingsaid thread guide means rearward to a second position in which saidguide portion is located rearwardly of the fell so that during insertioninto a shed the weft thread passing from said supply means through saidguide portion to said weft inserting means is delivered rearward of andout of contact with said fell.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said guide portion of saidthread guide means is an eye.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said drive means include areciprocating member connected with said thread guide means for movingthe same forward from said second position to said first position whensaid slay means arrives at said rear dead center position.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said drive means includesa driven rotary cam, wherein said reciprocating member is a cam followercooperating with said cam and being reciprocated by the same duringrotation thereof, and means connecting said thread guide means with saidcam follower so that said thread guide means is reciprocated betweensaid first and second positions.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said weft inserting meansis a gripper shuttle.

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said thread guide means isan elongated needle having said guide portion at one end thereof, saidguide portion having a bore extending through said needle slanted to thelongitudinal direction of the same so as to be substantially located ina plane extending between said thread supply means and the path of saidweft inserting means.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein said bore in said guideportion tapers toward said web.

8. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said guide portion when insaid second position of said thread guide means is rearward of saidfront dead center position of said slay means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,092,150 6/1963 Birmans et al.139-122 3,163,184 12/1964 Cherpin 139-125 3,237,656 3/1966 Haupt 139-122MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner. HENRY S JAUDON, Examiner,

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A LOOM HAVING SLAY MEANS RECIPROCABLE BETWEENFRONT AND REAR DEAD CENTER POSITIONS, AND WEFT INSERTING MEANS MOUNTEDFOR MOVEMENT THROUGH WARP SHEDS ALONG A PATH BETWEEN TWO END POSITIONSLOCATED LATERALLY OUTWARD OF THE WEB BEING WOVEN: THREAD SUPPLY MEANSFOR SUPPLYING WEFT THREAD; THREAD GUIDE MEANS LOCATED BETWEEN THE WEFTTHREAD SUPPLY MEANS AND THE EDGE OF THE WEB AND HAVING A WEFT THREADGUIDE PORTION WHICH GUIDES SAID WEFT THREAD, SAID THREAD GUIDE MEANSHAVING A FIRST POSITION IN WHICH SAID GUIDE PORTION IS LOCATED FORWARDLYOF THE FELL AND IN POSITION FOR ATTACHING THE WEFT THREAD TO SAID WEFTINSERTING MEANS LOCATED IN THE ASSOCIATED ONE OF SAID END POSITIONSWHILE SAID SLAY MEANS IS IN SAID FRONT DEAD CENTER POSITION; AND DRIVEMEANS OPERATING IN TIMED RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID SLAY MEANS FOR MOVINGSAID THREAD GUIDE MEANS REARWARD TO A SECOND POSITION IN WHICH SAIDGUIDE PORTION IS LOCATED REARWARDLY OF THE FELL SO THAT DURING INSERTIONINTO A SHED THE WEFT THREAD PASSING FROM SAID SUPPLY MEANS THROUGH SAIDGUIDE PORTION TO SAID WEFT INSERTING MEANS IS DELIVERED REARWARD OF ANDOUT OF CONTACT WITH SAID FELL.